JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn.—South Atlantic Conference power Wingate made quick work of Carson-Newman Saturday afternoon at the Buddy Catlett Tennis Complex by taking down the Eagles 8-1 to snap C-N's three-match win-streak.
The Bulldogs (11-4, 5-1) came into Saturday's contest ranked 48th in the nation and sixth in the Southeast region. After losing its first conference match of the season 5-4 against Tusculum on Friday, Wingate responded with the seven point advantage.
Carson-Newman (4-6, 2-3) won its three previous matches heading into Saturday's play before dropping its third SAC loss of the season to Wingate.
The Eagles fell out of the gate early by allowing three Bulldog wins in doubles play to begin the afternoon.
Stefano Daza (Venezuela) and Juan Sebastian Perez (Ecuador) started things off for Carson-Newman with an 8-4 loss in the first-seeded doubles match.
Joao Pedro Oliveira (Brazil) and Jesus Barcete (Spain) following in the second round match with an 8-5 loss, and Lee Presson (Crossville, Tenn.) and Kevin Mendes (Woodstock, Ga.) rounded out doubles play with an 8-5 loss at No. 3.
Things did not get much better in singles play as the Bulldogs took five of the six contests from the Eagles.
Oliveira kicked things off for C-N with a 7-5, 6-3 loss in the first match, while Daza battled Filippo Pezzoli a court over at No. 3, losing 6-3, 6-2 in two sets.
Marc Bantel (Germany) competed in the fourth-seeded contest against Amir Zari and came up short 6-4, 6-2. Mendes and Barcete then proceeded their contests in the fifth and sixth singles matches as the duo both fell 8-4 and 8-3 with the match already being decided.
Carson-Newman's lone team point on the day came from Perez in the No. 2 spot. The junior took down Connor Kudrick 1-6, 7-6 and 6-3 in the decisive three-set match.
"Wingate was better than us today. We did not play poorly, they just played better," coach Jean Love said following the match. "All doubles matches were hard fought. J.P. [Oliveira] played really well at No. 1 singles and lost a long and tightly contested match. Juan [Perez] performed super today as he was calm and he played a smart match after getting drilled in the first set. He came back to take the second and third sets to record our only team point today."
The Eagles will hit the courts again on March 23 with another home matchup at the Buddy Catlett Tennis Complex against North Greenville.
Stay tuned into cneagles.com for updates on Carson-Newman men's tennis.
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